Smith, an ESPN five-star recruit from Columbus, Ohio, is averaging 4.3 points and 1.7 assists per game. Though the 5-foot-8 guard isn’t lighting up the stat sheet, she is playing 27.1 minutes a game as a true freshman.
That’s more indicative of how she is helping the Gophers (8-11 overall, 7-10 Big Ten), whose scheduled 1:30 p.m. tip on Sunday was canceled Saturday because of COVID-19 concerns in the Minnesota program.
Smith also is averaging 4.3 rebounds and only 1.2 turnovers. It’s clear she knows what she’s doing.
“That’s why she stays on the floor; she’s very solid in everything she does,” coach Lindsay Whalen said. “She’s a great example for the rest of the freshman group.”
Minnesota won’t play in the NCAA tournament unless it wins the season-ending conference tournament March 9-13 in Indianapolis — highly unlikely. But the Gophers have recovered from a rough start to win six of their past 10 games.
And they’re doing it with a roster composed primarily of sophomores and freshmen. In last Wednesday night’s 73-63 victory over visiting Nebraska, arguably the Gophers’ best game of the season, six of Minnesota’s nine-player rotation were undersclasswomen.
That’s a good sign for a team in any season, but could be even better this year because the NCAA is allowing players to apply for an eligibility waiver for all players this season, which has been disrupted on and off the court by the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 Americans.
The Gophers have had only one game postponed this season but the program was shut down for parts of November, disrupting critical practice time for all players.
The good news is Minnesota’s young players are learning on the job with the possibility of losing a season of eligibility.
“That’s why we brought Katie in,” Whalen said.
That would be Katie Borowicz, a freshman point guard from Roseau who joined the Gophers a semester early. She crammed an extra three classes into her fall schedule in high school, 10 in all, and joined the team in time for a Jan. 6 game in Iowa City.
Borowicz didn’t play in that game, but four days later played 15 minutes in a 69-60 loss at Penn State. Without summer drills or fall practice. Her previous game was in the Minnesota high school state tournament last March before it was canceled by the pandemic.
Talk about a crash course.
The transition for Borowicz has been less about basketball — “I’ve been playing basketball my whole life,” she said — than it is about facing bigger, faster opponents. It’s been an adjustment for the 5-foot-6 guard.
Borowicz is averaging 3.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in 12 games, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story. She has shown considerable range from beyond the arc (she is 13 for 36 from 3-point range) and has 24 assists against 15 turnovers.
“In high school I was double- and triple-teamed, but the players weren’t nearly as good — not even close,” she said. “Pretty much in high school, if I had an open shot and I had about a two-inch window, I was putting that puppy up.”
Defenders’ longer arms change jump shots, and make driving for layups considerably more difficult. That wasn’t an issue for Borowicz in high school. “It’s obviously different against 6-4 forwards,” she said.
Ditto for Smith, who ran the show for Columbus Afrocentric, leading the team to two high school state championships as a sophomore and junior before last year’s tournament was canceled.
But on top of that, Smith is learning a new job. She might have handled the ball a lot in high school, but she often was setting herself up for offense. “I was more of a slasher,” she said. Now, she’s learning to get her teammates involved.
“In high school, it was easier to transition to wing from point guard,” she said. “Here, it’s about being the person who sets up the plays, directing people, being demanding and controlling the ball, learning a lot of different sets and when to call them against certain defenses.”
Her progression has been impressive. With starting point guard Jasmine Powell sidelined by an ankle injury, Smith started against the Cornhuskers and played a game-high 39 minutes. She finished with five points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
She also was charged with containing Nebraska guard Sam Haiby for much of the game. Haiby scored 21 points, but seven were from the free-throw line and she was 6 for 16 shooting from the field.
Borowicz and freshman Caroline Strande, a 5-11 guard from Racine, Wis., took turns filling in at the point and finished with an efficient 17 combined minutes, 2 for 3 shooting from the field for five points, five rebounds, five assists and no turnovers.
Sophomores Sara Scalia, Kadi Sissoko and Klarke Sconiers combined for 35 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists and five of the Gophers’ seven turnovers. Senior Gadiva Hubbard scored a team-high 14 points, but even she could be back next season. So could graduate student Laura Bagwell Katalinich, one of the team’s best shooters (42 percent).
“That’s something that we’ve talked about quite a few times this season,” Whalen said. “Ultimately, we’ll talk after the season and make the decision then, go from there.”
Regardless, it’s the young players who will dictate the direction of Whalen’s program. This likely will be Whalen’s first losing season in three years directing her alma mater, but the current roster is the best indication of the personnel she’s recruiting. Freshmen post players Grace Cumming and Erin Hedman have played a combined 14 games, including long stints late in a 94-62 loss at first-place Maryland. Freshman forward Justice Ross has been sidelined by injury.
The season hasn’t been perfect, but the play of the underclass indicates better things are coming. They’re learning on the fly, getting better, and in some sense playing with house money.
Minnesota is 0-9 against the Big Ten’s top seven teams this season, but they’re 7-2 against everyone else.
“That’s why we still feel so strongly about the foundation of our team,” Whalen said. “All these players are gaining a ton of experience in live action in the Big Ten, not just in practice but in game situations, to be able to get better and work.
“There’s no question that part of this is working for today, but it’s also building for your future and your foundation with the circumstances we’ve been given.”
“We’re really young,” Smith said, “but at the same time we’re really learning from our mistakes as we grow as a team. I really feel we’re going to be great when we’re the best team we can be. We’ll be unstoppable.”
The Link LonkFebruary 28, 2021 at 03:00AM
https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/basketball/6908922-Young-Gophers-learning-the-hard-way
Young Gophers learning the hard way - Grand Forks Herald
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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